Trainer Steve Sherman cools down his horses on a walker following morning workouts at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, Calif., on Friday May 23, 2014. Steve Sherman is the son of Art Sherman who trains "California Chrome", who has the chance to win the Triple Crown in two weeks.

Horse trainer Steve Sherman, (center) is joined by Don August, an agent (left) and O.J. Jauregui, trainer, as they listen to an original song about "California Chrome" during morning workouts at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, Calif., on Friday May 23, 2014. Steve Sherman is the son of Art Sherman who trains "California Chrome", who has the chance to win the Triple Crown in two weeks.

Trainer Steve Sherman watches the morning workouts as jockey Jesus Arriaga rides one of the horses they train at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, Calif., on Friday May 23, 2014. Steve Sherman is the son of Art Sherman who trains "California Chrome", who has the chance to win the Triple Crown in two weeks.

Trainer Steve Sherman times the horses he trains during morning workouts, at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, Calif., on Friday May 23, 2014. Steve Sherman is the son of Art Sherman who trains "California Chrome", who has the chance to win the Triple Crown in two weeks.

Trainer Steve Sherman takes a break in the paddock area during morning workouts at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, Calif., on Friday May 23, 2014. Steve Sherman is the son of Art Sherman who trains "California Chrome", who has the chance to win the Triple Crown in two weeks.

Trainer Steve Sherman keeps watch on his horses he trains as they leave the paddock area during morning workouts at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, Calif., on Friday May 23, 2014. Steve Sherman is the son of Art Sherman who trains "California Chrome", who has the chance to win the Triple Crown in two weeks.

Trainer Steve Sherman keeps watch on the horses he trains during morning workouts at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, Calif., on Friday May 23, 2014. Steve Sherman is the son of Art Sherman who trains "California Chrome", who has the chance to win the Triple Crown in two weeks.

Jockey Jesus Arriaga and trainer Steve Sherman cool down a horse that they train after a morning workout at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, Calif., on Friday May 23, 2014. Steve Sherman is the son of Art Sherman who trains "California Chrome", who has the chance to win the Triple Crown in two weeks.

Trainer Steve Sherman checks on his horses in the paddock area during morning workouts at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, Calif., on Friday May 23, 2014. Steve Sherman is the son of Art Sherman who trains "California Chrome", who has the chance to win the Triple Crown in two weeks.

Trainer Steve Sherman, (left) and Boone McCanna, an agent, look over the day's races during morning workouts at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, Calif., on Friday May 23, 2014. Steve Sherman is the son of Art Sherman who trains "California Chrome", who has the chance to win the Triple Crown in two weeks.

Trainer Steve Sherman and Jockey Jesus Arriaga work with a horse that they train during morning workouts at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, Calif., on Friday May 23, 2014. Steve Sherman is the son of Art Sherman who trains "California Chrome", who has the chance to win the Triple Crown in two weeks.

Trainer Steve Sherman hustles back to the paddock area as jockey Jesus Arriaga rides one of the horses they train at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, Calif., on Friday May 23, 2014. Steve Sherman is the son of Art Sherman who trains "California Chrome", who has the chance to win the Triple Crown in two weeks.

Thirteen days from now, on a far-off track in New York, a horse named California Chrome seeks to make history. Thirteen days from now, this unlikely champion, born of humble roots on the West Coast, attempts to become the first Triple Crown winner in nearly 40 years.

The story behind the horse borders on the fantastic. The low-key ownership group calls itself Dumb Ass Partners. The 77-year-old trainer never before sniffed this kind of success, despite a lifetime spent in the stables. The jockey came back from the brink of greatness and the depths of injury to ride the mount of his life.

And some day, the movie will reflect all of those story lines - played out in places like Gardnerville, Nev., and Yuba City and Santa Anita. But when you sit down in the movie theater that day, don't be surprised if the opening shot zooms in over the San Mateo Bridge.

That's because California Chrome's story started right here on the Peninsula, in a working-class home owned by trainer Art Sherman and his wife, Faye.

First as a jockey, then as a trainer, Sherman worked with horses in the Bay Area for well over four decades, most of them spent at Bay Meadows Racetrack and Golden Gate Fields. Faye ran the gift shop at Bay Meadows for 30 years. Their two sons, Alan and Steve, followed their father to the track, both becoming top-notch trainers in their own right.

In many ways, they are the first family of Bay Area racing, dating all the way back to the days when young Steve Sherman used to sell The Chronicle in front of Bay Meadows as a 12-year-old kid.

His father and brother would eventually train California Chrome in the more lucrative climes of Southern California, developing a horse bred for the paltry sum of $10,500 into a possible Triple Crown champion that could be worth over $20 million.

But Steve Sherman stayed behind at Golden Gate Fields, working his own stable of horses with great success. Steve also stayed behind to tell us the story of California Chrome.

The horse's improbable ascent started with Steve, actually. Soon after the horse was born at Harris Ranch, in California's Central Valley, California Chrome's owners thought they had something special.

"Perry (Martin) approached me about this horse early on," said Steve, who has trained horses for Martin and his wife, Denise, for years. "He said, 'I have a really good one. Who do you recommend?' I said, 'Call my Dad. He'll take care of you.' "

And so, Martin headed to Southern California, to the stables of Art Sherman and his son Alan. The two trainers had moved south a few years earlier, looking for a more lucrative market. Once Chrome entered the fold, the duo embarked on an old-school training regimen that included racing the horse seven times as a 2-year-old, more than is usual, mostly in California-bred competitions. That kept Chrome trim, and also kept him fairly obscure, away from the prying eyes of big-money farms back East.

"From the start, my Dad told me this horse could really run, but not yet," Steve Sherman said. "My Dad said he'd get better as the races got longer."

Turns out, Dad was right. California Chrome won a string of races as a 2-year-old, growing stronger as the competition got better. In the run-up to the Triple Crown, Chrome won big races like the San Felipe Stakes and the Santa Anita Derby, positioning him to run for the roses.

And once he got to Louisville, Chrome didn't disappoint. On the sport's biggest stage, he ran away from the pack and into history. Chrome became the first California-bred horse to win the Derby since Decidedly in 1962.

"I've won a lot of races with my dad," said Steve Sherman, who went to Kentucky to stand beside his father, brother and mother for the biggest of races. "But you can't describe the emotions of winning out there. You're overwhelmed and overjoyed. I've only felt that way once before - when my daughter was born.

"We all lost our voices."

But the Sherman clan regained them by the time they got to Baltimore for the Preakness, the second leg of the Triple Crown. There were rumors of a sick horse. And questions about whether Chrome could repeat his performance. The horse, apparently, didn't hear any of the negative commentary. He simply went out and beat the field.

"They tried to gang up on him at the Preakness," Steve Sherman said. "The rest of the field engaged him early in the race. But he doesn't get overwhelmed. He doesn't waste anything before the race with nervous energy. That's why he has that fifth gear."

With the Preakness behind them, the Sherman clan now points toward New York, where the Belmont awaits near the borough of Queens. It's the longest race of the three, at 1.5 miles, longer than California Chrome (or any of his competitors) has ever run. The competition will be world-class and the world will be anticipating history. If Chrome wins, he'll be the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.

If that happens, Art and Alan Sherman will go down in history as two of the most unlikely trainers to win the Triple Crown. And Steve Sherman will be right beside them. One more win will put California Chrome in the company of Seabiscuit, the famed horse with Bay Area roots who overcame long odds and stiff competition to become the "People's Horse."

But you can't have a people's champion without the right people behind the horse. And that's where the Shermans come in.

"My father taught me you have to have your horse mentally and physically prepared," Steve said. "You have to know when he's ready to run. He always told me, 'A healthy horse is a happy horse.' "